Travelling to Japan means you’re ready to walk all the way to your destinations or ride trains to get from one place to another. But at times, you would want to take a taxi on a tiring day or destination is just simply not a walkable distance. But if you don’t speak the language, grabbing a taxi can be intimidating as not many know how! Here’s some tips to help you take your first cab ride in Japan!

1. Spotting an available taxi

The easiest way to spot an available taxi is when there’s a sign in red saying 空車 which means vacant. The light on top of the taxi is usually lighted up too! But if you see a light green sign with the word 賃走 that means the taxi is occupied.

an example of a vacant taxi in Japan @laundermrl Unsplash

2. Getting a taxi anywhere vs getting it at train stations

In Japan, you can hail a taxi by the road side by just raising your hand like usual. But if there’s a train station or hotels or shopping mall nearby you might have to line up at designated areas, generally located in front of the station.

Miyuki Satake / Shutterstock.com

3. Do not open or close the taxi door

In Japan you do not open or close the taxi door on your own as it is automated. And once you managed to hail a taxi you can just enter the taxi and tell the address while you’re inside it. Taxi drivers in Japan generally do not reject rides requests. But if you have a luggage bag with you, you can just point the luggage bag to the taxi driver and he/she will help you with unloading it in the trunk.

4. Make sure you’re ready with Japanese address

Unless you’re lucky, taxi drivers in Japan does not speak or understands English well. Make sure you have a Japanese address ready so that the driver can easily know where you’re heading. Just screenshot the address and show it to the taxi driver while saying ”ここに行きたいです” – koko ni ikitai desu which translates to “I want to go here”.

5. Taxi fare in Japan

Taxi fares in Japan are fixed according to areas so you won’t need to worry about getting scammed. But what you need to prepare yourself is that taxi fares can be expensive especially if there’s traffic. In Tokyo it may start off with a basic fair of 690yen and increases per kilometer. And if you’re using taxi from 10:00pm – 5:00 am you will be charged the late night fees which are usually 20% extra.

6. Make sure you have enough cash

Although some taxi may allow credit cards or e-money such as Suica or ICOCA, its better if you have cash just in case they did not accept it. Having enough change helps too! You can roughly check the amount from the taxi meter before arriving.

7. Download e-hailing app, DiDi Taxi

Getting a taxi in Japan as mentioned in points 1-6 can be a hassle especially if you can’t speak the language. To help you out we recommend you downloading DiDi Taxi app as not only its available in English, you can hail a taxi to pick you up from your location and pay within app using international credit card, all without uttering a single word! Although it might not be available at some areas, you can definitely use it in major cities such as Tokyo, Osaka or even Fukuoka! What’s more is you can get a 1,000Yen Off your first ride with Halal Navi Deals, how more cost saving it can be?

Our team's trip with DiDi Taxi!

1,000Yen OFF your first ride

Get 1,000 Yen OFF your first ride with DiDi Taxi and more coupons that can be used in Japan that’s worth more than 50,000Yen!

Now that you’ve checked out $U#^$&%, its time to hit the streets and get going! There are more to discover along the way! To experience Tokyo’s main highlights within a day, you can get the tour ticket through Klook here.

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